Page 47 - CTI82_EN

C

which is really a refueling for the day.” I’ve never re- “Playing more tinkling high-pitched music… has
alized before that the sounds and voices in a cafe mean been shown to bring out the sweet notes in bittersweet
so much to both the professionals and the customers. foods such as dark chocolate, cinder toffee, and (slight-
So now it’s easy for us to understand why people des- ly sweetened) black coffee.By contrast, the playing of
perately love coffees and cafes. We won’t, and we low-pitched brassy music makes the bitter notes sud-
shouldn’t hog-tie ourselves only to the natural flavors denly become a lot more pronounced. ”
of coffee anymore; we can do differently on other parts Pretty interesting, isn’t it? Imagine that one day
of the tasting spectrum, like the sound. It brings the in the near future, when you step into a cafe, you will
customers new pleasant dimensional experiences, be amazed (or maybe surprised) by the new menu: “Hi,
which is more crucial to the sustainable development welcome! Today we have a new list, Combo A which is
of the supply chain. Ethiopian Washed + Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells,
Study shows as early as in the 1990s, Professor Combo B is Guatemala Natural + Deep House skewers,
of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University Combo C is DIY, and you may select your favorite
Charles Spence began to study the influence of mul- coffee and music all by yourself!
tiple senses on diet. He said: “Sound is a forgotten And once again, coffee is no good? Before blaming
sense of taste.” the barista, this time probably you may check the
Do these sounds, which mostly pass unnoticed, re- background music or noises around first.
ally make a difference to how the coffee tastes? The find- Taking cafes as their “Second Home”, psycholog-
ings reveal something interesting as well as astonishing: ically speaking, the consumers have more expectations
“(The sound) is so loud, in fact, that not only may of cafes: delicious drinks, enjoyable music, friendly
it be damaging the hearing of those employees exposed services, especially a quiet and cozy vibe with respect,
to such noise levels for long periods of time, but the so that they may pursue their own needs, talking with
evidence suggests that it may actually suppress our friends, working and studying alone or reading, just
ability to taste sweet and salt, as well as impairing our like staying at home, and sometimes what they need
ability to discriminate between different aromas.” is simply a peaceful corner in the hustle and bustle of
“Louder and faster music has been shown to in- the world, running away from all troubles and just
crease the speed/amount that customers eat and drink having a little rest.
in restaurants (sometimes by as much as 27 percent). ” However, for many times finding an acous-
“(Playing classic music of quality) shoppers/ tic-friendly cafe becomes a big wish we are making.
diners spend more on their food and drink purchases. Unfortunately many cafe-lingerers get used to the
What is more, they tend to rate whatever they are noises in the cafe: excessive-volume background mu-
eating and drinking as being of higher quality too!” sic, loud chatting, harsh sound from the old machines

or from moving chairs screams of the kids, out-loud Your Voice Makes Future Better
media videos from the mobile phone, etc.. “Sometimes
it’s really a bummer. If it is too noisy, I will move to There is no doubt that cafes have become an
a small cafe,” said one of the coffee lovers. indispensable element in our daily lives. Compared
Given all this, clearly the sound becomes the dou- to the past, currently consumers who are more willing
ble-edged sword to consumer experience, and has exerted to take the initiative to communicate, and in the In-
a monumental effect on the coffee industry. For the sus- ternet age they have also been empowered to express
tainable development, and to further enhance the con- their opinions in different channels. The profession-
sumer experience, expertise and talents across the indus- als are more attentive to listen and share than ever
tries are working hard together: technically control the before. The dialogues in the cafe have built a solid and
noise level, set new taste expectations, modify flavor broad bridge between consumers and the industry. In
perception, providing more sensory marketing, supply the booming age of specialty coffee, Baristas have
sound-absorbing product applications, etc., with all the more chances stepping out of the cafe, Coffee Fests,
efforts and technology, sounds will be part of our journey Commercial exhibitions, and coffee competitions of
towards flavor, environment and utmost importantly, the the supply chain and communities, all give coffee
hospitality of the coffee industry. lovers more opportunities to “speak”: share their

48 49